Pot-pourri from a Surrey garden

October 4:th. — The Nerines (see Johnson's ' Gardener's Dictionary ') have flowered well and been charming this year. N. Fothergillii is the finest colour, but all are most useful autumn bulbs, and last a long time in water. They are easy to manage, and, like many Cape bulbs, flower before the leaves are produced. During the growing of the leaves they must be carefully attended to and watered ; and even, now and then, a small dose of liquid manure does them good. They are best not re-potted, except very rarely ; and as the leaves die down they must be laid on their sides and dried and well baked in the sun, just like the Freezias, only not shaken out and re-potted, as recommended for them. The bulbs, too, should be planted, like Vallotas or Hyacinths, well on the top of the pot. I never can understand why these very ornamental bulbs are not grown in larger quantities especially as they increase and improve, instead of being almost useless, as is the case with the spring bulbs after forcing. A Cape family of small, very sweet-smelling shrubs called Diosma (see Johnson's ' Gardener's Dictionary ') are well worth growing ; in fact, no greenhouse ought to be 1 82 POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN without some of them. Their charm is principally in their foliage and scent, as the flowers are insignificant. They are easily increased by cuttings in spring under a bell-glass. The growing of Cape plants is always interesting. Small Cape Aloes have charming pink flowers in spring, which last long in water, not unlike the Lachenalias (see catalogues), all of which are worth growing. Leonotis leonurus has not flowered out of doors with me this year at all, either in large pots or planted out in a bed. The plants were covered with buds, and so we lifted them at the end of September, and put them into the heat, where they have flowered well. This would be worth while for anyone with plenty of room, as it is such a handsome unusual flower when picked. Like the Daturas, they may be extra late from the excessive dryness of May and June, and the wet afterwards. It is a Cape plant ; there it forms large bushes covered with bloom. Another African greenhouse plant well worth growing is called Sparmannia africana. The covering of the bud is white, and shows, when the flower opens, between the four petals, forming an unusually pretty star-shaped flower with a brush of yellow stamens tipped with red. We have a good many fine Sweet Chestnut trees, and they ripen more or less well every year. We cook them in a great many ways : boil them and shell them, and warm them up in butter or with a little stock, as a vegetable. They are very good made into a pur6e with butter and cream, to eat with cutlets ; or boiled and rubbed through a wire sieve, to serve round whipped cream well flavoured with sugar and vanilla. Of course the cheap Chestnuts sold in London can all be cooked in the same way, but only the best Italian Chestnuts are good for roasting. OCTOBER 183